Microsoft unveils the "world's most powerful data center"

Microsoft unveils the blueprint for its next generation of AI data centers. The first location will be built in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, where Microsoft plans to put hundreds of thousands of Nvidia Blackwell accelerators into operation in early 2026. The cost is expected to be $3.3 billion.

According to Microsoft, the Fairwater data center in Wisconsin will provide 10 times more computing power than the world's best-equipped data center today when it is completed. It is not clear which hyperscaler will operate it – private companies do not register their systems in the Top500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers.

Since Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Google, among others, already operate data centers with more than 100,000 accelerators, Microsoft's new building could approach the million GPU mark. The company has not commented on the electrical power consumption – but it is likely to amount to hundreds of megawatts. The focus will be on energy from renewable sources.

Nvidia GB200 and later GB300

In Wisconsin, Microsoft is relying on Nvidia's GB200 boards with ARM processors (Grace) and B200 GPUs. The company plans to build more nearly identical data centers that will also use Nvidia's improved top-of-the-line accelerator, the GB300, aka Blackwell Ultra. The latter uses 288 GB of HBM3e per GPU instead of 192 GB.

Nvidia's server blueprint based on the GB200 NVL72 with 72 boards in a rack is being used. Nvlink switches connect the accelerators together. According to CEO Satya Nadella, the fiber optic cable used would be enough to circle the earth 4.5 times.

In its blog, Microsoft boasts: "The new Fairwater AI datacenter in Wisconsin stands as a remarkable feat of engineering, covering 315 acres and housing three massive buildings with a combined 1.2 million square feet under roofs. Constructing this facility required 46.6 miles of deep foundation piles, 26.5 million pounds of structural steel, 120 miles of medium-voltage underground cable and 72.6 miles of mechanical piping."

The cooling systems on the sides of the data center take up almost as much space as the hardware. As is now common practice, Microsoft relies on water cooling. Underneath the turbines are water pipes with countless cooling fins that dissipate waste heat into the ambient air.

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